Partitions de Amadeus Press

Par CASTELLO DARIO. / Répertoire / Flûte à Bec Soprano ou Violon et Basse Continue

Includes full-length audio CD-Over the course of some three dozen volumes Amadeus Press highly acclaimed Unlocking the Masters series has drawn readers into the worlds of the greatest composers and their music. Curated pairings of critically minded introductory texts andcompanion CDs loaded with tracks selected from the worlds foremost libraries of recorded classics the series truly brings the sounds and stories of its legendary subjects to life. Its latest entry Victor Lederers Schumann: A Listeners Guide isan essential portal to the musical works of and tempestuous life of this little-understood genius. Many if not most major composers improve over the course of their careers. For Schumann however the opposite was true: plagued throughout his lifeby physical and mental illnesses he helplessly ? and consciously ? endured the gradual diminution of his prodigious talent until his premature death at age 46. Throughout Schumann: A Listeners Guide Lederer provides unflinching critiques of theweaknesses that plagued Schumanns style contrasting them with the brilliance of his earliest triumphs. This eminently accessible account explores the full spectrum of the master composers oeuvre from his popular early music and lieder to hisworks for chamber ensembles composed in 1842 to his four beloved if flawed symphonies. It also accounts for Schumanns dramatic works particularly Genoveva his only opera and Incidental Music to Byrons ?Manfred ? a bewilderingly unappreciatedmusical score. As with all volumes in the UTM series Schumann: A Listeners Guide is accompanied by a CD containing two of the masters most daring imaginative flights both explored in detail in the text: the Davidsbündlertänze for piano andDichterliebe (A Poets Love) one of the all-time greatest song cycles and works for voice. Geared toward fledglings but written with an eye turned to aficionados the book is a must-have for Schumann buffs and classical music fans young and old.

Libretto Background and Photos-Today Mozart's exquisite Le Nozze di Figaro delights and moves audiences everywhere long after its 1786 birth into tumultuous times. The original Beaumarchais play raised a firestorm in France then on the brink ofrevolution with its dangerous commentary on class relations. However Lorenzo Da Ponte carefully omitted anything political from his opera libretto; what remained when joined with Mozart's sublime and penetrating music was awitty yet profound tale of infatuation heartache scheming and tenderness where complex emotions are laid bare and everyone regardless of class is equally vulnerable to the powers of love.Figaro continues the story ofThe Barber of Seville several years later in a single “day of madness.” Count Almaviva's love Rosina is now his long-suffering countess and the barber Figaro now the count's valet is about to marrySusanna the countess's maid. But the couple-to-be must first deal with two obstacles: a demand that Figaro pay his debt to an older woman or marry her instead and the count's determination to bed Susanna on her weddingnight.Suspicions fly plots are hatched narrow escapes abound and connivers receive their due. Love and forgiveness finally bring order to the craziness and a day filled with torment and worry ends in joy.

Unlocking the Masters Series-Ludwig van Beethoven's chamber works are some of his most revered compositions. Victor Lederer guides the serious nonprofessional listener through this oeuvre in his new book Beethoven's Chamber Music: A Listener'sGuide.Lederer shows how Beethoven's sonatas for violin and piano overflow with high energy and spirits showing a creative force that transcended personal struggles. The “Kreutzer” sonata Op. 47 displaysall the power of the master's middle period while the G Major sonata Op. 96 foreshadows Beethoven's mellower late works. The author also considers the sonatas for cello and piano which span Beethoven's early middle and lateperiods and examines the piano trios including the immense “Archduke” trio.A highlight of the book is an exploration of the sixteen string quartets which represent the pinnacle of Beethoven's achievement inchamber music. Lederer explains how the middle-period quartets starting with the epic “Razumovsky” set shatter molds and create new procedures often on a stunning scale and why the five late quartets and the GreatFugue are considered the peaks of the quartet literature and of Beethoven's own output. Lederer helps both new and experienced listeners grasp the strangeness and grandeur of these astonishing creations.The book comes witha compact disc containing musical selections drawn from critically acclaimed performances on Naxos Records.

Unlocking the Masters Series No. 4. Mozart was the first composer whose operas have never left the international repertoire and for many he remains one of the finest vocal composers who ever lived. In a sense all of his music is vocal music depending as it does on arresting singable melodies but in his great operas single arias and sacred works Mozart put his melodic gift to work revealing the subtleties and expressive potential of a wide range of texts in languages ranging from Italian to Latin to German. In every case he created masterpieces from operas such as The Marriage of Figaro Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute to the sacred choral motet Ave Verum Corpus and of course the unfinished Requiem his final project. This second Getting the Most Out of Mozart volume in our Unlocking the Masters series focuses on Mozart's great operas and other vocal works but also discusses numerous lesser-known compositions from operas he wrote as a child to insertion arias for favorite singers or operas by other composers. In each case David Hurwitz describes how the musical setting and choice of instruments supports the text. He takes readers through the seven major operas aria by aria showing how Mozart uses vocal style and orchestration to create believable and moving characters that remain the standard for characterization in music to which all composers and dramatists aspire. The accompanying CD from Telarc Records includes 14 works.